MELBOURNE, Australia - The Australian Grand Prix, beset by speculation that its contract won't be renewed by Formula One organizers after 2010, received a rebuke closer to home Wednesday.
The local government council which hosts the race said it has had enough of the event and is asking the Victorian state government to scrap it.
"After 14 years, residents have had more than enough," City of Port Phillip mayor Janet Cribbes said in a statement.
"Why should they have to suffer the noise and the inconvenience of a car race in a park for a race whose public price tag blew out to $41.3 million (C$39.6 million) last year?"
The cost of staging the event has risen steadily each year. Despite the losses, the state government says a clear economic benefit results from the influx of visitors for the race, as well as widespread publicity for Melbourne through international television exposure.
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has been pressuring organizers to hold the race at night to suit European television viewers or risk losing the race, but the Victorian government says it will not give in to demands for an event under lights.
The council said the race "does not benefit Victoria as a whole" or the rest of the country and it is time for the race to move on.
"It simply doesn't stack up on economic, social or environmental grounds," the mayor said.
The Australian Grand Prix has been part of the F1 championship for 23 years, 12 at Albert Park on the edge of downtown Melbourne and formerly in the South Australian state capital of Adelaide.